Vote LunaTeal Jewelry-’2011 The Best of Big D: Readers’ Choice Poll’

For those of you who don’t know, I own a jewelry design company named LunaTeal Jewelry. I received a wonderful email yesterday morning advising that LunaTeal Jewelry has been nominated by D Magazine editors for the 2011 The Best of Big D: Readers’ Choice Poll, Shopping category for Best Jewelry Designer!!!

I am overjoyed!!!  It is truly a huge honor to be nominated and we are in great company but we need your help to rise to the top.

Vote for LunaTeal Jewelry

Starting Monday, April 25th thru Sunday, May 8th, please click the above link or log on to dmagazine.com/bestofbigd2011, go to question 25 and vote for LunaTeal Jewelry. 

Not near a computer?  Want to vote from your smartphone?  Use the D Magazine mobile site at dmagazine.com to cast your vote for LunaTeal Jewelry! 

You can vote once an hour every day so please vote for us often.

Every vote counts!!!  Thank you for your support.

O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer…LOVE IT! Pt 3

Yesterday I went to the nail salon to have the gel color on my nails removed. After a previous discussion with my nail tech, I knew with no exception that we would be soaking the gel off. As I sat getting a pedi I had my fingers soaking in a bowl of acetone.

You would not believe how fast and easy the gel soaks off!!! I was shocked. It literally flakes off. The removal process is no fuss and it only took about 15 minutes. Not the 20 minutes per nail rumor I read on some blog.

Taking artificial nails off to try gel color is something I highly recommend. At my nail salon, the gel color manicure service costs $25. Their regular manicure is only $10 so I do understand the apprehension some ladies have to paying the additional cost. I can justify the cost. I was paying $25 for fills anyway.

The biggest benefits to wearing gel color over regular polish is that it does not come off on paper and does not really chip. Other highlights are that the shine is amazing and because they color cures after each coat, colors can be layered to create your signature look.

If you are looking to ditch artificial nails and opt for the gel color trend, allow me to share a few tips. First, call your salon ahead for pricing. I read on a blog that someone was changed $50. So clearly like with any service, the prices can vary greatly. It’s a good idea to not have sticker shock when it’s time to pay the bill. Second, don’t remove the artificial nails yourself. Let your nail tech do it. They are skilled in this and saving as much of your real nail is important so don’t do this yourself. Finally, be prepared to get used to functioning without artificial nails. Everything changes because your real nails are weak and will take a while to grow and get strong.

On a final note, yes you can purchase all the stuff to do gel color yourself at home. Applying this gel takes skill and it is a bit different from using regular polish. If you want to shell out the money to buy everything, go for it. If I’m not mistaken, each bottle of O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer, not base or top coat just gel color, is around $22. Bottom line, I recommend you paying a professional.

O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer…LOVE IT! Pt 2

Yesterday marked 2 weeks since I’d taken my artificial nails off to try O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer.

This post does not have a picture because to date, I have two very insignificant chips – one on my thumb & one on my middle finger…that is it! Nothing to report. Considering I use my hands a lot as a jewelry designer, I actually expected more damage. The only noticeable change is that my nails have grown.

Today I’ll be going in and selecting a new O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer to try… I love this stuff! Stay tuned for the final post of this series.

O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer…LOVE IT! Pt 1

My nails have always grown fast but would break once they got to a certain length and I hated it.  Because of that, I have worn artificial nails since I was in high school…I’m 31 now and I never thought I would ever take them off…

UNTIL LAST THURSDAY…

 I decided to try the hot O.P.I. Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer I had been hearing so much about.  I was eager to see how my hands would look with color on my nails since I had been wearing pink & whites for the last 5 or so years.

 The gel applies easy with a brush and cures under a UV light after each coat.  Once the final coat to seal the color and add a glassy shine is applied and cured, your nails are dry!!!

Below are my nails on day 1 and day 7.

Day 1

Day 7

 As you can see, my nails have grown a bit but there are no chips, scratches or dings.  Since I’ve been wearing the gel, I have done the same things I normally do with my hands.  I even had to dig around in a storage unit and my nails remained unharmed.  The gel color does not come off on paper like traditional nail polish and the shine in outstanding.  I am 100% pleased!

Recently I read a few blog posts written about gel color and some ladies had serious issues with the gel peeling off.  To me, that has to do with how skilled your nail tech is and how knowledgeable she is about the application process.

Another concern I read about was the removal process.  Many ladies were upset that their nail tech opted to file the gel color off vs using the acetone soak-off method.  The acetone soak-off method is more time-consuming and I can see why a nail tech might try to cut corners but as a consumer you must make your desires known. 

My nail tech explained that this gel should be soaked off and that is how we plan to remove this color and apply a new one.  Look for a follow-up post about how the removal process goes for me.

A Season for All

Four seasons, 52 weeks, all dishes under 475 calories. That is what the hot new upscale restaurant Seasons 52 has to offer the Shops at Legacy loving crowd in Plano.

Your mouth will water with delight for their flatbread and the award-winning wine list will make you swoon. Seasons 52 takes a fresh approach to calorie cutting with seasonal dishes that offer huge flavor with little guilt. The use of natural cooking techniques like wood fire grilling, bring out the wonderful flavors of the fresh market ingredients they use in each dish.

Seasons 52 Custom Flatbread

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Junior League of Plano meeting at Seasons 52. I was greeted by a wonderful staff willing to show me our meeting space and eager to pour me a complimentary glass of wine. The hospitality continued with delicious flatbread appetizers topped with shrimp, grilled steak, and plum tomatoes that truly highlight their ability to serve up a stellar, flavor packed dining experience.

If you are not in Plano or the North Texas area but still desire to enjoy the tasty offerings of Seasons 52, check out their website www.seasons52.com. They also have locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania & Virginia.

Extra, Extra…Thanks DMN

Recently a comment I made was published in the Dallas Morning News.  I responded to a question I received via email for a forth coming article titled “Sounding Off: New Year’s resolutions … for other people”.  Eventhough I was being asked to give my input, I had no idea that my response would have a real chance at being published.

The question was: What New Year’s resolution would you like to see someone else adopt for 2011?

This was an easy question for me to answer & I shot back 3 emails with 3 seperate resolutions.

The resolution that was published read: The city of Dallas should resolve to extend the life of its residents’ vehicles by ending the pothole epidemic.

Click to read to the full article on the Dallas Morning News website.

Happy Lips

By now you can tell I think my lips are my best feature. Today I received a wonderful surprise in the mail! My order of lip balm from PURE Natural Minerals!

This is great lip balm!

PURE Natural Minerals is a beauty company started by a lovely lady named Rose in Central New York. ( I LOVE NY!)  She creates beautiful shades of mineral eye shadows, powders, blushes…& obviously  lip balms. 

I purchased the Lemon & Ginger balms as shown in the picture.  Rose was so kind to send me a smaller sample of the Cinnamon lip balm, which I am wearing now as I type this post! Love it! My lips are in heaven!

Check these out!  I’m thinking of ordering these too.

Peach Dreams PURE Lips

 

Peach Dreams Shadow

Rose offers great, affordable beauty products! If you love lip balm that super hydrates your lips, smells great, glides on & lacks any funny taste, you must check out the PURE Natural Minerals Etsy shop. 

 

Look up!

Look up to check out my new blog banner!  I also have a super cute blog badge and a cool new signature.

(Yes, I am holding a BlackBerry!)

LOOK!

Lip Love

Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know I was supposed to be shopping for Christmas gifts last night at Neiman Marcus but sometimes you must reward yourself in the process. Check out one of the simple gifts I bought myself.

My latest lip love obsession…

Kiehl’s Lip Balm SPF 15 costs $9.50. I purchased the colorless formula. Men & women can use this! (Blogger’s Note: There is a shineless lip balm for men, but really…I don’t know what the big whoop is about a tiny bit of shine. This product isn’t a gloss; give it a shot guys!)

I love that there are no flavors or funny smells to this product. It’s lip balm, plain & simple. Just the way I like it!

LeLe

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

The Sign Said…

One day last month while driving to work, I looked over & I read the sign at Midway Hills Christian Church. It read:

“Create a new normal”

This is the motto of my life.

LeLe

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.